


New Soul in a Strange World

by ReaderDragon



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Multi, Other, will add more characters and tags as I go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25413844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderDragon/pseuds/ReaderDragon
Summary: When Hat Kid learns she can't go home, she tries to make one for herself. It's rather hard to fit in when you're an alien with a spaceship though. Luckily, those she met along her journey end up becoming great help.
Relationships: The Florist/Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 82





	1. Unfortunate News

**Author's Note:**

> Re-uploading the fic! Sorry to anyone who used to have it in their bookmarks :(

Alongside a whole slew of others, Snatcher was currently in the middle of begging a particular child to stay on their planet. Said child, apparently named Hat Kid by everyone else other than him, had her arms crossed and was pouting at all the intruders on her ship.

"I told you all I'm going home! I already spent too many months here trying to find all the time pieces."

"Darling please reconsider! All the movies involving you have been very popular, you could be a star!"

" _ Kid you're the first living thing to even survive more than two contracts, if you're looking for more challenges-" _

"STOP IT!"

The small crowd went quiet. Hat Kid looked to be at her wit's end with their antics already.

"I only did all of those things to get the time pieces back. I have a planet to go back to, a  _ family _ to go back home to."

The Conductor looked down to his feet rather shamefully at the last end. He gave a deep sigh. "Aye, I see yer point there lass. If any of me grandkids were gone I don't know what I'd do…" Hat Kid's expression softened a bit. She looked over the others and sighed. She'd still need to kick the others out.

"You can stay on the ship to say your goodbyes, but please move to another room for now. I need to contact my planet to let them know I'm still on my way back."

Hat Kid shooed the group away. They all scattered to different rooms, all waiting for the all clear from Hat Kid to come back to the hub area. Snatcher decided that he wasn't going to let the kid boss him around, only he can do the bossing! 

He phased through the walls to get back into the hub area, settling himself into a shadow to hide. Snatcher watched Hat Kid dim the lights in the hub and run over to the command desk. After a few button presses a large screen appeared. Snatcher couldn't understand the language, but he guesses that it meant she was calling someone. After some moments of an eerie silence, an elderly woman appeared on the screen.

"Who's calling? I don't remember having any contacts so far…Amelia? Is that you?"

"Hi Nana!"

Snatcher almost wanted to gag. He didn't want to see the usual happy, sobby reunion. Still, he listened in anyways since this would be the last time he could spy on her like this.

"Amelia, it's been so long! What happened to you dear?"

"Nana it was  _ awful _ . Some mafia guys tried to get into my ship and that caused all my time pieces to be sucked right out of the ship! And then I spent these past months getting all of them back, so I can go home now."

"I told them all you were still alive, no one believed me!"

Hat Kid's smile faltered a bit. "...No one?"

"Oh dear…" The elderly woman cleared her throat. "Amelia when you left for your test and the academy gave you that time limit, at first your parents joined in with me to give you an extension of an extra week. But as it turned into months, everyone assumed it was safe to say you died somewhere."

_ Oh boy. _ Snatcher was able to get a good look of Hat Kid's face. She wasn't smiling anymore. The elderly woman on the screen was also tearing up, having to use a napkin to wipe her tears.

"I couldn't get proof that you were alive, if only I still had my own ship…"

"So...my name is already written off?"

The old woman nodded, sniffling. "Yes dear. The planet's defense would label you an intruder now."

"And mom and dad?"

"They already applied to have another child since you're labeled as dead."

The two stayed quiet for a moment. The only sounds heard could be sniffling and the occasional blowing of the nose. But finally, the old woman spoke up again.

"What will you do now Amelia?"

"If I can't," She sniffled. "can't go back home, I'll see what planet will accept me."

"Oh sweetheart, no matter what planet you go to I'm sure you'll be accepted. You just have that face no one can say no to."

Hat Kid gave a small chuckle. She wiped her eyes looking up at the elderly woman with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess that's true." Hat Kid was going to hang up the call, but looked up when she heard the elderly woman speak up.

"Before you go dear,"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is rich, coming from an old hag who couldn't help you, but happy birthday Amelia. I'm happy you managed to make it to your 6th year. Wherever you go now, please stay safe. I'll never forget you dear."

And the call ended. Hat Kid stayed seated for a moment staring blankly at where the screen used to be. "Nana remembered…" She hopped off her chair and walked sluggishly back to her bedroom. Snatcher didn't follow her, but the sound of loud sobbing was very clearly coming from the bedroom now.

The others were alarmed to hear the crying and all left the rooms they stayed in to want to check on her, but Snatcher quickly left his hiding spot to block them. Before anyone could loudly object him he put a finger over his own mouth to tell the others to be quiet. He did his best to talk in a low voice.

" _ The kid...she has no home to go back to _ ."

"What? But the lass said-"

" _ She was gone for so long that everyone, except someone she called Nana, thought she died _ ."

Everyone looked at each other in shock. They were all muttering to each other but all came to the same agreement: Hat Kid really needed to be left alone right now. One by one everyone used their respective telescopes to get back to the area of the planet they lived in.

Snatcher wanted to just leave too, this revelation killed any mood he had to toy with Hat Kid. But he didn't know the way back to Subcon Forest from this ship yet, he had followed those two idiotic birds. To make matters worse, the telescope that led back to Subcon Forest was in Hat Kid's bedroom. Snatcher sighed. He cleared his throat and talked loud enough so that Hat Kid could hear him.

" _ Hey kid! I'm trying to head back to the forest so I need to use the telescope. _ "

He could hear frantic scrambling around the room. Hat Kid was most likely trying to hide her own crying, he couldn't blame her. After a moment the scrambling stopped.

"Alright, go to the telescope!"

" _ Gotcha. _ "

Snatcher entered the bedroom to see Hat Kid covering herself under the blankets. She was just a mass on the bed right now. He made his way to the telescope and made sure it eas pointed to the Subcon Forest. Right before leaving though, he looked back to Hat Kid.

" _ Honestly don't understand why you prefer such a dumb nickname as Hat Kid. _ "

"...I'm a kid wearing a hat, it fits."

" _ Whatever. Amelia sounds much better, less annoying, but you do you. _ "

To hear her name, Hat Kid quickly pulled her covers off of herself. But Snatcher was already gone and back to Subcon Forest.  _ He...He heard Nana call me by my name! _ It was probably anger or surprise, or both, that lead Hat Kid to get out of her bed to wipe her tears and use the telescope to get to the Subcon Forest as well.

Needless to say, Snatcher didn't expect to see the recently crying child now stomping towards him in his hollow. He knew why though. It was just fun to fake innocence.

" _ What? I left your ship. _ "

"You know WHY I'm here! How? How did you know my name?"

" _ Cause the woman on the screen wouldn't stop saying it _ ."

"No one else heard it!"

" _ I was in the room where the mafiatown telescope was. When all there is to the room are flimsy double doors, you can hear everything. _ "

It was a lie of course but it was believable. Hat Kid was muttering, trying to figure out what to do now.  _ Oh, he heard it in passing. _ Still she needed to break even with him!

"Well, since you know what my name is, I want it to be even!"

" _ Oh really. _ "

"Yeah! If you know my name it's only fair you tell me yours. I doubt you were 'Snatcher' even when alive."

But that right there was a line he refused to cross. He has forbid anyone from knowing his real name, and this brat was going to be the last one he'd let know.

" _ No. _ "

"Huh? But you know my name it's only fair!"

" _ Kid I am the opposite of fair, so go on, skedaddle back to your ship already. _ "

"Well, if you heard everything you know I'm not going anywhere anymore."

" _ Wait- _ " But Hat Kid was already sitting on his chair. Snatcher groaned and tried to whack Hat Kid off his chair but she expertly dodged his hand when he tried to grab him. 

" _ Slippery little- _ "

It was now a cat and mouse chase. Snatcher would try to grab a hold of the  _ annoying brat _ , but she would slip away at the last second. It was a full on chase through Subcon Forest now.

Hat Kid was at the lead. Having done so many contracts for Snatcher she knew the layout of the forest like the back of her hand. At the same time that meant she knew how to dodge Snatcher's traps on the forest floor. This made her all the more annoying to try and catch.

This annoyed Snatcher to no end. Why does she always insist on being such a pest?

" _ Go back to your ship already you brat! _ "

"Tell me your name first!"

He gritted his teeth. But then he noticed that the branches Hat Kid was using her hookshot with were looking rather withered. An opening! Using a concentrated attack, Snatcher blasted off the exact branch Hat Kid was using to launch herself.

It worked! Hat Kid tried to dive to get closer to the next hookshot piece but she was too far. Falling down now meant that Snatcher was able to easily snatch her up, no pun intended. Hat Kid squirmed in his grasp and let out a loud whine, cheeks so cutely puffed up in her tantrum.

"No fair!"

" _ Don't care, now GET OUT. _ "

"No!"

" _ I can literally just kill you right now. _ "

"And then I can be a ghost and bother you FOREVER about your name."

" _ Little shit. _ "

"Peck neck."

The two glared at each other before finally Snatcher was the one sighing. Hat Kid wasn't even a ghost and yet she was easily much more annoying than one. Why did she even like bothering him so much does she really have nothing better to do?

Snatcher gave a hard glance to Hat Kid, and briefly looked around to make sure no one else was nearby and listening.

"... _ it's Lukas. Now get out of here already. Birthday or not you're not allowed to stick around and be a thorn. _ "

Hat Kid let out an excited gasp and looked at Snatcher with large, sparkly eyes of amazement. It was disgusting honestly. He shook Hat Kid off his hand and pointed up back to her ship. For once, she finally did as she was told and teleported back up. FINALLY, some peace and quiet.

He trudged back to his hollow and sat down back on his chair. It was only the beginning of the day and he was already mentally exhausted. Snatcher knew telling her his name was going to be a huge mistake somehow. He uncomfortably rubbed his wrists, just thinking about his old name was bringing back bad thoughts already.

Back at the ship, Hat Kid was very quickly writing down in her diary. Today was a flurry of emotions. She thought she would be able to go back home, but she can't. But it brought a lot of new emotions too. Even if it was for selfish reasons, people here wanted her to stay at least. And now she knew a juicy secret concerning Snatcher!

Looking back, she did know that she only had 38 of her time pieces. "I never really did any of the rifts...well, might as well get those done. You never know when you need some timepieces to travel." In her last paragraph of her diary, she made a checklist of the last few timepieces needed. Starting tomorrow she had something new to do! 

But being back in her room, with her thoughts coming back to her...it was lonely. Her mood deteriorated at the thought, the thought that she was branded both a failure and dead by her own community, by her own family.

It hurt. It hurt so much.


	2. Comfort

Snatcher had finished his patrol rounds for the day. He reset any traps that were sprung for one reason or another, and put any idiotic victim he currently had under a new contract. In the past few days, he hadn't heard any of his Subconites mention Hat Kid. No skin off his back, as far as he is concerned. But he had to admit, it was getting boring not having a capable idiot under a contract.

An alarm for one of his traps set off. Already? Snatcher went over to the trap giving off the alarm, but was surprised to see a new face in the trap. It was one of those two idiot birds that he followed to Hat Kid's ship. A penguin with an afro larger than his head, and platform shoes that comically added height. In the darkness of the trap, he could see this comedic excuse of a penguin shaking where he stood.

" _ Hm, never have tasted penguin before. _ "

"Wait wait! I came here because no one else knew."

" _ Knew what? _ "

"Have you seen the little darling? I haven't seen her since we went off the ship, no one has."

" _ Probably having daily brooding sessions or something on her ship, she'll get over it. _ " 

"And if she doesn't?"

" _ It ain't my problem. _ "

Snatcher heard the penguin gasp. "Why the nerve! That child is possibly one of the best things to ever happen to this planet! Amazing potential to be a star!"

Snatcher rolled his eyes. " _ Yeah sure best thing ever and all that. She's been nothing but a pain in my side since she showed up months ago. _ "

"Then why did you defend her privacy when she was crying her poor little heart out?"

Annoying penguin = 1. Snatcher = 0. Snatcher gave off a snarl and lifted his rather bothersome victim off the ground. A terrified cry came from the penguin and he went to shield his face. Why did everyone think he suddenly had a change of heart because of one isolated incident?

" _I'll make myself perfectly clear. I hate the kid. Literally made her sign a contract to stay away from this forest and she would still come by to bother me._ _I don't want you, or anyone else bothering me about that brat ever again. Got it?_ "

"Green, super green!" The penguin whimpered. Snatcher laid down the trap and let go of the penguin. He gave off a terrified shriek before running back to one of the exits of the forest. Wait, Snatcher forgot to get his soul.  _ Shit. Making me forget because of that kid. _

Had she really been in her ship all this time? Or maybe she's just been avoiding everyone…

Snatcher shook his head. Whatever! Why should he care? She's finally leaving him alone, so he can continue torturing poor saps in peace...right? He looked up at the sky blankly. His thoughts were running amok now. Maybe he  _ should _ visit- no scratch that.  _ Idiot don't go to her! _

…

Seconds later, he was snapping his fingers and he was at the ship again. The lights were either turned off in a room or very dim. But everything turned bright red as the intruder alarm rang out. Shit, he forgot about that.

Within seconds Hat Kid left her room with her trusty umbrella in hand. She was at the ready to attack, but lowered her stance when she saw it was Snatcher.

"Oh, hey."

" _ What a lovely reception. That's how you treat a guest after you've been brooding nonstop for days? _ "

"I'm not brooding."

" _ Kid your eyes are red and you have bags under your eyes. Not to mention you smell like you haven't washed yourself. That's brooding behavior if ever I saw one. _ "

Snatcher was met with the umbrella being thrown at him. He wasn't blue, so it moved right through him. " _ Rude. _ "

"Shut up! I have a right to be angry."

" _ Probably, but that doesn't stop the idiots back on the planet from being worried. They haven't seen you in days and are wondering where you are. _ "

Hat Kid lowered her head. She hadn't thought of that. But how could she currently worry about them? She's still so angry that only her Nana was hopeful about her survival. She's so angry that the rest of her family was so quick to move. All those nights where she dreamed of seeing them again, they were all for naught. Her hopes of a touching reunion, all shattered.

Snatcher watched her stand in silence. He could tell she was thinking of something, but went wide eyed to see her tearing up again. He tried to snap her out of it but she quickly degraded to outright crying again where she stood. Snatcher covered his ears. Why did she have to be such a brat? He looked around to see if there was something he could use to get her to stop crying, but the only thing around was that tiny machine called Rumbi. There's always...

Hat Kid tried to wipe her tears away but she continued to feel herself tearing up more. She flinched to feel something press against her face. She noticed that it was the end of Snatcher's tail. When she looked up to Snatcher she saw that he was turned away. She cautiously grabbed his tail but he didn't react. 

Hat Kid tightly hugged the tail and sniffled. It wasn't Nana and it wasn't a proper hug, but it felt nice to have something to hold. Snatcher visibly felt uncomfortable at this. Centuries of being dead didn't really bring any problems. But for the first time since he died, a warm body was actually hugging him. He shuddered, the rest of his body felt so could by comparison.

After some time, curiosity got the better of Snatcher and he looked back to see how Hat Kid was doing. Her eyes were closed but she wasn't asleep. Her grip on his tail was looser but she was cuddled against it so close, as if she let go it'd be gone forever. But she at least looked calm now.

"... _ Come on kid, time's up let go of my tendril. _ " 

Hat Kid held onto it tighter, looking up to Snatcher. "Your tail's nice to hug…"

" _ No, no puppy dog eyes. Come on I still have a forest to go back to. Since you're not crying anymore take this chance to tell everyone else what's going on because I am not being a middleman to all this _ ."

Hat Kid's cheeks puffed out in a small tantrum but she let go of his tail. She let out one final sniffle before looking over the planet. Seems she was choosing who to visit first. Snatcher took this as his cue to finally leave, but before he could Hat Kid looked back to him.

"Oh um,"

" _ What is it kid?" _

"Um, Lukas is a nice name. It's a shame you don't call yourself that anymore."

" _ I'd prefer to distance myself from my past as much as possible if you don't mind. Same as you preferring for everyone to call you Hat Kid rather than Amelia." _

"Well, we know each other's real names so I guess that means we're even."

" _ I suppose so. See ya kid. _ "

And Snatcher was now back at the tree hollow, his home. He looked at the chair and for a brief moment remembered the wild goose chase that Hat Kid had put him through. Guess there was a reason why she always treated everything as a game. It's a nice escape from the harsh bullshit she has to face sometimes, or currently.

Snatcher quietly went onto his chair, knitting away. He remembered when knitting and sewing were practical skills and not just "girly" activities. Oh the need he has to wring out those idiots who say that. He was in the middle of knitting a little beanie. Snatcher figured it would be a good reward for the most well behaved Subconite he could find that week. With how calm things have been around the forest as of late, Snatcher had found himself with much more free time to indulge in former hobbies.

It's why some Subconites look 'dressed' so to speak. Apparently they like it when Snatcher makes random articles of clothing for them to wear. He could only guess that it makes them feel a bit more human even after they long ago ceased being one. Snatcher never liked making anything for himself, he felt as if he wouldn’t look so intimidating anymore if he had some stupid tie or hat.

Still, something needed to be done with everything he knitted or sewed so the Subconites had some nice little clothes to wear. Considering that Hat Kid would be stuck on this planet now, perhaps he could throw her some contracts so he can give away the excess clothes that didn’t fit any Subconite. Those articles took a lot of effort though, he shouldn’t just hand them out like candy to the kid. Knowing her, she needs a proper challenge. As he continued to knit, he was already scheming up some new contract ideas for Hat Kid to be subjected to.

“ _ I’ll check up on her later. She better be in a good mood by then. _ ”


	3. Visitations

Hatkid decided the next day she'd visit the Conductor and DJ Grooves first. When the next day came, she had put on her usual clothes for her outings and teleported into Dead Bird Studio. She really needed to apologize to the Conductor and DJ Grooves for being so quiet these past few days. From what she gathered they were some of the most worried.

Entering through the sliding double doors, she gave the receptionist a small wave of her hand to get her attention. Looking up, the receptionist gave a surprised 'hoo' before frantically calling the Conductor and DJ Grooves. Within the minute hurried footsteps could be heard from both double doors situated on either side of the reception room.

The Conductor was the first to appear, followed by DJ Grooves nearly falling over due to his platforms. They looked at her with utter joy, eager to greet her.

"Lass!"

"Darling!"

"Hey guys...um, sorry that I never told you guys that I was staying on the ship for a few days. I probably kept you all very worried."

"Oh think nothin' of it lass. A few gray feathers would look fine on me."

"Darling I just  _ couldn't  _ stop pacing waiting for you. I'm certain that my end of the studio probably has a few ditches now."

Hatkid giggled. She really missed hearing them talk like this. First thing's first, she owed them an explanation. They needed to know properly why she was going to be staying.

The three were sitting on some chairs in a break room on the Conductor's side of the studio. There, she explained to the two from beginning to end how the call happened. It was a struggle to not tear up, but the two birds looking on with supportive faces helped tremendously.

"And so...afterwards Nana wished me my happy birthday and wished me luck in my future endeavors."

"Why, the audacity of all those planet inhabits! Minus your Nana of course."

"Aye, that be no words to hear, especially on a day as important as yer birthday!"

"Oh, it's fine, really! I mean, I knew that failure would be a heavy consequence with the academy. I just...didn't expect to be labeled dead."

The Conductor and DJ Grooves looked at each other briefly. Regret flashed across their faces.

"Oh Lass, if only we didn't hold ye up on getting those timepieces back."

"Darling I'm terribly sorry I let my greed stop me from seeing that you were trying to get home."

"But the question stands Lass, what will ye be doin' now?"

Hatkid shrugged for a moment. She never thought she'd be out on her own so soon in life. She still had enough food in her ship to last her a few more weeks, and her ship is her home so she wasn't strapped for cash immediately. But the fact still stood that she needed a job soon.

"Um, what jobs can kids have on this planet? In the future I know I'll need money for food and new clothes."

"Well, it may sound like we're blasting yer head with the same offer lass, but being a movie star pays handsomely."

"Before, you needed the timepieces and that's how we paid you darling but the payment can easily switch to money."

Hm, would she want to be a movie star in the long run? She always found it fun to be part of those movies that the Conductor and DJ Grooves threw at her, but it was exhausting work. She didn't want to continue doing this even as she grew older and couldn't work as hard.

"Well, until I know what I want to do for sure do you know jobs that kids usually get?"

"Oh darling of course. It may be common movie tropes, but it's usual to see children sell lemonade, mow lawns, and some older children and teenagers babysit."

Sell lemonade? She could definitely get some customers with just her adorable looks alone. Hatkid pondered and wondered. Mafiatown is usually riddled with chores to do considering they can't even cook for themselves. For now just the few odd jobs should do.

"Well, Mafiatown usually needs a lot of help so I'll be using that for now. Once I'm older I think I'll look into babysitting."

Hatkid noticed the two directors whispering to each other for a moment before nodding, realizing that she was watching. The Conductor was the one to clear his throat to speak up first.

"So, Lassie when did you say yer birthday was?"

"It was a few days ago."

"And how old were you turnin'?"

"......6, why?"

From their pockets, the Conductor and DJ Grooves both took out a wad of cash wrapped with rubber bands. The two held out their wads to Hatkid, keeping their arms outstretched until she took the money.

"It ain't much lass compared to how much I can make from one movie, but happy belated birthday."

"And think of it as our way of helping you out before you get yourself a stable job darling."

Hatkid looked at the money, sniffling a bit. She tucked away the money and in a surprising gesture hugged the two directors. Various squawks of surprise could be heard, they didn't expect to be hugged!

But they could see just how hard Hatkid was trying to not cry about this. Even if they felt like they had to bleach their bodies because their feathers were touching, comforting Hatkid was more important to them at the moment. The two directors returned the hug to Hatkid, letting her embrace them for as long as she needed.

Eventually she did pull away from the hug, and so quickly did the Conductor and DJ Grooves retract from each other. Hatkid giggled, she swore she could hear the two hissing at each other.

"I'll drop by every once in a while to say hi to you two."

"Alright darling but make sure you tell me hello first so I can rub that into the Conductor's face."

"Wha- lass tell me first so he doesn't get that pleasure!"

These two. Honestly.

With a wave of goodbye she left through the doors of Dead Bird Studio and teleported herself back to her ship. She took out a clipboard and marked off the Conductor and DJ Grooves as people she had gone to talk to proper. All that was left was the Mafia goons and Cooking Cat. Considering the latter was in Mafiatown it was another trip that she could get two visits out of.

The lights in her ship blared red again, warning of an intruder again. Hatkid knew it wasn't an intruder though, she could literally see Snatcher phasing through the floor to enter the ship. 

"I really need to set the ship to stop calling you an intruder if you plan to make it scream at me every other day."

" _But what if I want you to go deaf._ _That nullifies my plan_."

"Find some other poor sap to torture then."

Well, he  _ could _ but that's not what he's there for. Snatcher tossed over a hat that looked like the detective hat Hatkid wore when she was part of that murder mystery movie the Conductor was showing.

Hatkid caught the hat and looked at it for a moment. The material felt  _ amazing _ in her hands and the stitching looked very neat, as if a sewing machine or skilled tailor had done it. She experimentally put it on. It was a perfect fit.

" _ Did I get your fat head right? _ "

"Hey it's not fat! But yes, you did-" and Snatcher well, snatched the hat back from the top of Hatkid's head.

"Wha- hey!"

" _ Trial period is over. Wanted to see if the hat was okay. _ "

"For what?"

" _ What did you think I'm going to give you hats for free? I have ideas for potential contracts, for every few contracts I'll drop in some reward such as this hat. _ "

He cautioned some warning as he moved a finger over his throat. " _ These will be VERY hard though. Think you're up for a few? _ "

"...Maybe later."

" _ Wait really? No suspicious comment over why more contracts or anything? _ "

"Well, what do you expect? I'm trying to be okay with living on my own while realizing I have to work a job or something now."

" _ Kid I don't know what else to say other than: Shit happens. Things are always unfair and forever will be. Sooner you embrace that, the sooner you embrace the things that make being on this planet worthwhile. _ "

That was...actually sound advice. Blunt as it was. 

Snatcher sent the hat back to his tree hollow in the time being. He wasn't going to be able to mess with her when she's still rather shaken.

" _ So what did you do anyways? Your pockets are very visibly filled with something. _ "

"Oh! I almost forgot." 

Hatkid took out the wads of cash that the Conductor and DJ Grooves gave her. She needed to remember to put this in a big piggy bank somewhere.

"When I dropped by Dead Bird Studio they gave me this as birthday money. I think it was more of their way to apologize though, for keeping so many time pieces from me."

" _ Well, you got your grocery money for a bit so you can actively relax there. _ "

"True, I'm going to take this chance then to find the last few timepieces I missed."

" _ You missed some? _ "

"Yeah, I only needed a set amount so I was okay with leaving some here. Might as well get them all back though."

" _ Well if any are stuck in my forest too bad, so sad. _ "

"Good luck finding the time rifts they're on then!"

" _ Time rifts? _ "

Hatkid gestured for Snatcher to follow him back to her bedroom. On her little work desk she had drawn out where the time rifts were. Snatcher noticed that most of them were blue, but the few odd ones were purple. One of the purple time rifts was already crossed off. From the silly little drawing next to it, it looked like that Mustache Girl that they all kicked the butt of.

" _ What makes purple time rifts different from the blue ones? _ "

"Those are timepieces that landed on someone before shattering. If I collect all their bits of memory when I'm in the rift, I can essentially see their past."

" _ So this purple one landed on that mustached brat? _ "

Hatkid nodded and pointed upward. "Yup, and the purple rift was on the ship so it was easy to get. I just hope not all the purple rifts are like this…"

" _ Like what? _ "

"So sad. I saw what made Mustache Girl hate the Mafia so much, and I don't know what happened to the old man that appeared in her memories…"

Snatcher rolled his eyes. Oh boy, more sob stories to make someone the kid hated look a little less bad. Well, he personally could care less. That mustached brat interrupted a good chunk of his time contracting idiots in his forest. 

" _ Then just don't collect the purple rifts, simple. _ "

"I'm the only one who can enter them, I have to!"

" _ Bullshit you're the only one _ ." A throw pillow phased right through him. " _ Again, not blue. _ "

"If you're not from my race the time rift refuses to let you in. It's how the timepieces ensure only my race can collect it when it's so damaged to the point of being in a rift."

Snatcher rolled his eyes. Great. He checked the map again and saw that two blue rifts and a purple rift were in his forest. That meant he was going to have three annoyingly glowing orbs in his forest for god knows how long. 

Wait, a purple? It landed on someone? Well, the kid's going to get the true definition of something sad considering all the sappy stories of his victims. Knowing her luck she probably got the memories of a Subconite who signed a contract years ago. One with memories not  _ as _ bad.

To his annoyance though, Snatcher saw Hatkid circle the rifts that were not in his forest, but in the Alpine Skyline. Really? She was going to go there first? He groaned to himself. Guess he'll have to put up with the rifts in his forest for a little longer.

"I'll see if I can get these done as soon as possible so I can keep my timepieces stored away."

" _ Sure sure, just be careful of mustached intruders again. I don't want that brat trying to enforce such a clearly biased justice system on me again. _ "

He expected Hatkid to respond, but it looked like she was getting ready to pack her things and get going already to go get those time rifts. By the time Hatkid looked back up, Snatcher was gone. She needed to get these timepieces back, she'll worry about bothering him later.


	4. Can't Sleep

Hatkid groaned. Her whole body ached from the feeling of having to navigate so many time rifts in one day. How was she supposed to know that those huge goats were going to be in a rift? They knocked her off platforms so many times!

"Rude, that's what they are." She grumbled. Her butt was still sore from how often she landed on it. 

But that's besides the point, she had memories to draw! She had used the last of the blank pieces of paper on her ship to draw Mustache Girl's memories. Try as she might, no matter which drawer she checked she couldn't find any sheets of paper to use. Well...she at least had her crayons with her!

Giving up, Hatkid gave out an exasperated sigh. How was she supposed to draw down the memories she found from the twilight bell if she can't even find any paper?...oh. There's a whole planet below her, she can just ask! Or buy, if she really has to.

First she had gone to the Conductor and DJ Grooves to see if she could ask them for paper, but the studio was already closed for the day. Hatkid grumbled. Looking at the time, she realized there wouldn't be many places open right now.

Well, what would be open or awake by now? Duh, Subcon Forest! From what Hatkid could tell Snatcher was always so grumpy because he doesn't sleep, so he's definitely awake right now! As fast as you could blink Hatkid brought herself back to her ship then over to Subcon Forest.

Where the teleportation drops her is always near Snatcher's house. Sure enough, there he was in his tree hollow. Hatkid quietly approached, trying to get a sneak peek at the title of the book. It was his comical 'How to Kill Kids' book again. 

Snatcher noticed Hatkid peering into the hollow when he looked up. He closed the book and stared at her, clearly bored.

" _ Kid, look how high up the moon is. You should be asleep. _ "

"I was just here to ask for some paper sheesh."

" _ No, you're not getting any _ ."

"Wha- why not?"

" _ Did you not hear me before? It's late, go sleep. _ "

"I can't sleep  _ now _ ! I just got out of a purple rift and I need to draw what I saw."

" _ Find paper elsewhere. _ "

"Pleeeeeease?"

" _ No. _ "

Hatkid pouted. It's not like the world will collapse if he gives her just a few sheets of paper! Well if he was going to be a peckneck about it, so will she! 

Snatcher watched her with a clearly unamused expression.  _ She's really trying to strike this out isn't she. _ Hatkid was defiantly sitting on what was the foot stool for his chair. Arms crossed and cheeks puffed out, she stared at him as if being there was going to be enough to bother him.

Spoiler: It wasn't.

Minutes passed and Snatcher kept the staring contest going. Watching paint dry becomes a genuine hobby when you're truly bored with the world, so this was a cake walk to him. Not so much for Hatkid. Despite her insistence that she wasn't tired, her eyes were looking very heavy and yawns were being frequently heard from her. 

" _ Going to give up yet kid? _ "

"...huh? Wha- never!" She's really starting to doze off now.

" _ Alright, suit yourself. _ "

He stood up from his chair to go put away the "How to kill kids" book and take out a history book of magic on this planet. It was time to bring out the big guns. Snatcher sat back down and opened the book on his lap. Hatkid went wide eyed to see the word 'history', that was her worst subject at the Academy!

Snatcher cleared his throat, and began reading aloud.

" _ The first known magic user is unknown even to historians, but counts of individuals who possessed elemental abilities were thought of to be the first. The first named magician however was a scientist by the name of Williams…" _ And on and on he went.

How could a book make magic seem so boring? Don't talk about the magic!!! Hatkid groaned. With how boring everything got, even more so her body was trying to get her to sleep. But Snatcher was relentlessly reading, there was no way to stop hearing him without leaving the tree hollow. Leaving the hollow meant defeat though!

Eventually, Snatcher was getting rather engrossed in the book to the point he forgot he was reading it to bore Hatkid. He only realized that Hatkid was still there when he noticed that she was quiet for too long. Looking up, and he saw her curled up in a fetal position on the footstool.  _ Great. _

Snatcher closed his book and put it aside. He'll finish it later.

" _ Kid, come on get up. _ "

"..."

He spoke closer to her ear. " _ Kiiiiiid. _ "

Nothing.

" **_Kiiiiiid!_ ** "

….

Still nothing. How deep of a sleeper was she? Snatcher gave her a hard shove that nearly toppled her off the footstool, but still nothing. A facepalm followed suit. Snatcher looked up to his shelves to still see a few loose sheets of paper that he just left in random spots. He remembered using some of them as bookmarks.

Snatcher went row by row on every shelf to snag as many sheets of paper he could find. He needed to ensure that the little brat wouldn't bother him so soon for paper. Once he had about six pages, he used his tail to rather crudely pick the sleeping child off the footstool. He wasn't going to soil his hands.

Within a heartbeat he phased right into the ship. By this point he entered the ship so many times he didn't even have to think about transporting himself (and the brat) over. Snatcher made his way over to the bedroom and dropped Hatkid down on the bed. As expected, she didn't even react.

He placed the sheets of paper on the nightstand and decided to leave as soon as possible. You don't want anyone getting the wrong idea after all. But when he began to uncurl his tail from around her, a small whimper was heard. Snatcher looked down to see Hatkid's sleepy mass looking very distressed and reaching out lazily.  _ Don't tell me… _

To test it out Snatcher moved part of his tail back to Hatkid's immediate proximity. The second one of her fingers felt his tail, her hands lashed out and grabbed onto it tightly. A couple of plush toys were on the floor rather than the bed, so that explained why Hatkid was stressed out in her sleep. Snatcher grabbed the plush toys and tried to give them to Hatkid, but she refused to let go of his tail much to his dismay.

Waiting for her grip to loosen, he silently watched her sleep. Snatcher really didn't realize before just how tiny she was. Hatkid is always out and about with a large (and annoying) personality, plus a hat and umbrella combo that make her larger than life. But right now as she slept in the comfort of her bed and cuddled up against his tail, he noticed just how small she actually is. Remembering what her Nana said before, she's only six years old. As young as some of the Subconites back when they were...well, alive.

He leaned forward. As careful as he could be with his clawed hands he moved Hatkid's hair so that it wasn't tickling her nose anymore. She was calm now, nuzzling her cheek against his tail. In the still air between them, he felt a foreign feeling. One he hadn't felt since before his death. A small crack of a smile was breaking onto his face, and the fuzzy feeling continued. He would have continued not noticing if not for the fact that his arms were starting to warp in weird ways.

_ No. No no no no! _

He panicked, he knew what that meant. Snatcher yanked his tail from Hatkid and quickly replaced it with an owl plush toy. The switcheroo was fast enough, she didn't notice in her sleep. He didn't stick around long enough for her to potentially wake up, he went back to his hollow.

There, one of the Subconites was sweeping the inside of the tree hollow. He was the one Subconite with coattails in the body's design, so it was easy to tell him apart. Snatcher gave an idle wave to the Subconite and went to get his magic history book.

"I heard you reading to the child."

" _ I wasn't reading to her, she refused to leave so I had to bore her to sleep. _ "

"...by reading to her."

" _ Shut up. I know where you're getting at _ ."

"It's not wrong to let your guard down around the child you know."

" _ You and I know that what couldn't happen will never be. This is a random kid that insists on following me around, so stop reading into it. _ "

"Alright, I'll just look at you with a smug expression next time you pick her up to take her to bed-" And Snatcher threw a potion of weak power to the Subconite. He seems to have gotten used to dodging the potions but knows that that is the signal to stop pushing Snatcher's buttons. Snatcher watched the Subconite leave and scoffed to himself. A random brat doesn't have the power to change anything.

It's always been like this and it will forever stay like this.  _ Why would that brat be any different? _


	5. A Nice Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup The Florist is here! What Vanessa did happened recently, in order to explain why the Florist is alive and still young.

Hat Kid was wide awake and doodling away on the papers she had. All she remembered was trying to beat Snatcher in a contest of who gave in first on the paper issue. Considering she was now happily drawing away in the comfort of her tiny work desk in her bedroom, it seems she won!  _ How tired was I that I don't remember going to bed? _ She shrugged it off, and happily held up the last sheet of paper to appreciate her artistic skills.

She kept all the papers in a neat pile and tucked them into a folder she had in her drawer. That was all the time rifts for the Alpine Skyline! As much as she likes the nomads, they never really did much. And thanks to those time rifts, she never wanted to see a goat again anytime soon! Not to mention the lava cake, but she can easily avoid it. 

A rumbling stomach interrupted her thoughts. Time to eat! Hat Kid hopped off her spinning chair and ran over to the kitchen. She opened her pantry to see that she still had some cereals, bread, crackers, and a few seasonings. In her refrigerator she had no milk, but some cheese, juice, butter, and cream cheese. No milk?  _ No milk?! _ This was downright torture! How else could she eat her cereal?

She got some of the money from the wads of cash that the Conductor and DJ Grooves gave her, and went off to the Subcon Forest. She remembered always seeing a town near the forest, they're bound to have a store there!

As she touched down into the forest in her usual way, she looked around to see where the exit was from the forest.  _ If Snatcher's home is south of me, the exit should be southeast of here? _ Hat Kid went off to go find the exit, leaving a VERY confused Snatcher looking on from his hollow. He knew the way around the forest like the back of his hand, judging by the direction she was going, she was just using the forest to get to the town.

Hat Kid did eventually make it past the outskirts of the forest, and noticed a LOT of signs all warning the town's residents to not enter the forest. This personally confused her, what was there to be afraid of other than Queen Vanessa, who is in an isolated area of the forest? Hat Kid shrugged. Asking around, she managed to get directions to a very large supermarket in the town. She looked on in awe to see the variety of goods for sale in this store. She shook her head, no time to get distracted!

_ Milk first and foremost, maybe some eggs and bacon too. Oh and Macaroni! And maybe some- _ Lost in her thoughts, Hat Kid didn't notice until it was too late that she bumped into someone else. She appeared to be an employee, but unlike some of the grumpier looking ones this woman looked so warm and inviting. The aroma of lavender flowers emanated from around her and created such a pleasant atmosphere.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." Hat Kid said with a small bow of apology.

"It's fine dear. I've never seen you around before, you visiting the area with your family?"

"Uh, I live nearby now I'm not visiting." Was all Hat Kid could say about it without outright giving away she was living alone. Luckily the employee picked up that she wasn't in the mood to answer further and switched topics.

"So what were you here for?"

"Some milk is top priority! I ran out right when I wanted some cereal!"

The employee chuckled but led Hat Kid to the dairy section and showed her how to check for the best milk based on the expiration date. She explained further to Hat Kid how condensed milk is always an option for when you never know how much milk you will actually consume. With how easily she found the milk thanks to the employee's help, she continued on with that help to find oranges, eggs, bacon, macaroni & cheese, and some raspberries. Luckily Hat Kid brought enough of the cash that when she used it, she got some leftover change over at the checkout.

"Thank you a bunch, miss!"

"You can just call me Lily, dear." She pointed to her nametag. Hat Kid nodded.

"Well, I go by Hat Kid more than my actual name, so you can use that too!"

"Alright, see you again soon Hat Kid."

"Bye-bye!" She only had two bags with her so it was easy to head out without any help. Hat Kid retraced her steps to head back to the outskirts of the town, looking at the same 'DO NOT ENTER' signs as before. 

She looked around to make sure that no one was watching her, and quickly ran to the entrance of the forest. With all the noise she made with the paper bags eventually she was getting the attention of a few Dwellers and Subconites. They followed her curiously all the way up to the center of the forest, right in front of Snatcher's home.

Speaking of which, Snatcher looked up to see Hat Kid with grocery bags...and being followed by a few his minions and some Dwellers.

" _ Alright why are they all following you? _ " 

"I dunno, I was just going back to my ship after getting stuff from the store. I was gonna ask if you wanted something though."

" _ While I can still taste, it's not exactly required that I eat you know. _ "

"What, I can't offer my BFF anything? I was planning to have some cereal and bacon."

"... _ Bacon, you said? _ "

Bingo, found his weakness! Hat Kid nodded in response and took out the container with the bacon. It was turkey bacon rather than pig, but all the same Snatcher tried his best to look like he wasn't interested.

" _ Hm, fair offer indeed. _ " Hat Kid giggled.

"Well come on then!" She turned back to the Subconites and Dwellers. "You guys can come too." Cheers erupted from the small crowd. With the small crowd of Subconites and Dwellers, 4 and 2 respectively, it took Hat Kid a little longer to get everyone onto the ship but soon she did. She went up to the kitchen and everyone expectantly followed her. She took out the two packets of bacon first and counted how many each packet had. 12 each, 24 total. With 8 of them it was enough for 3 pieces of bacon each.

Snatcher watched the young girl move to the drawers to take out 8 plates total and a fork for each person too. Hat Kid had to use steps to reach and turn on the stove to pre-heat it, and took out a pan from a lower cabinet. With a wooden spoon in hand she got the packets of bacon. Opening them, she saw she could fit 4 pieces of bacon in the pan at a time. The Subconites and Dwellers were so intently staring at Hat Kid as she cooked their bacon. They didn't have to eat and felt no hunger, but the smell of the bacon alone made them feel like if they had a stomach it would be growling in anticipation. 

Minutes later, and all the plates had freshly cooked bacon on them. Hat Kid passed a plate each for everyone to hold. Luckily for everyone, Hat Kid had since moved the telescope to Mafiatown off to the side, with a table taking its place. Everyone took to a stool to sit on, and after a brief pause every started eating their bacon. Happy squeals could be heard from the Subconites, and the Dwellers were making a variety of happy purrs and shrills. Hat Kid wondered how Snatcher was reacting to the bacon and looked over to him. She was disappointed to see a rather neutral expression on Snatcher but she could see him savoring every bite of the bacon he took.

"Hm you eawy oouve bacon Fnasher."

" _ Don't eat with your mouth full kid. _ "

Hat Kid giggled but did as she was told. It took no time whatsoever for everyone to finish their plates. Everyone took their turn to wash their own plate and utensil, but the Dwellers needed help with that task thanks to their lack of arms. Snatcher helped them out in that, holding the plate still so the Dweller could scrub away best it could. Once Snatcher could start washing his own plate he noticed that it was eerily quiet in the kitchen. Looking back, no one else was there.  _ Well, half the ship is going to be destroyed. _

When he finished washing his plate the search for the seven dwarves began. Luckily their laughter in Hat Kid's bedroom cut all the time out of searching for them. Snatcher entered the bedroom to see the seven of them having a pillow fight. It was Subconites vs. Dwellers, with Hat Kid joining the two Dwellers. The Subconites tried to dual-wield their pillows, but were only met with a pillow to the face by a Dweller or a giggly Hat Kid. 

They weren't going to stop any time soon, so Snatcher took this chance to hover around the edges of the room. On Hat Kid's little work desk a series of pictures caught his eye. He recognized the paper used as the pieces he gave her. The pictures seemed to depict a sort of goat from the Alpine Skyline traveling to said destination...before becoming a bunch of stars? He saw that on her map the rifts for Alpine Skyline, purple included, were crossed out. Guess it was just Hat Kid's weird interpretations of how some history at the Alpine Skyline came to be.

After a few minutes Hat Kid had to call a timeout and collapsed onto the pillow pile to rest. The others joined her on the pile, still being giggly bundles of energy.  _ Note to self, limiting the bacon for everyone in the forest if they act this hyper after eating it. _

"So how did you find all that food anyways newbie?"

"Oh I had to go to a store to find it! The place was really confusing, but a nice employee named Lily helped me find everything."

Snatcher's thoughts froze. " _ Pardon? _ "

"Lily! L-i-l-y." Hat Kid spelled out with a smile. "She was really nice with helping me out, and she smelled of lavenders! I really need to ask her how she can smell so nice."

A woman named Lily who smelled of flowers. " _Bright red-orange hair, with_ _eyes as blue as yours?_ " Uh-oh, Snatcher that was too specific of a question. Everyone's attention was on Snatcher now, eyes wide and curious.

"Woah, Snatcher do you know her?"

Choose your words carefully. " _ I've...seen her at the outskirts of the forest. She sometimes picks some flowers to take home. _ "

"Hey, if she visits the forest again we should thank her for helping the newbie find such good bacon!"

The other Subconites and the Dwellers agreed with a nod. Hat Kid was going to agree too, but noticed Snatcher's sad expression. When he realized she was looking his expression changed to his usual grin as if nothing happened. Hm, this is a mystery she had to solve later down the line. Snatcher gestured for the Subconites and the Dwellers to come to him. They had finished eating the food Hat Kid graciously offered, they were pushing their stay.

" _ Come on you lot, time to head back. _ "

He was met with a chorus of groans and whines, but the Subconites and Dwellers obediently came back to him. They all waved goodbyes to Hat Kid and within a blink of an eye they seven of them were gone, leaving Hat Kid back on the ship. Well, her morning was eventful that was for sure! She still needed to visit Cooking Cat and the Mafia Goon that worried for her, so she decided that her next port of call would be Mafiatown for today!


	6. It's Not Fair

Things looked quite different in Mafiatown already. She knew she left Mustache Girl with a timepiece out of pity, but there were so many different sights already. Inhabitants that weren't Mafia goons were everywhere, but living side by side to the Mafia goons. Judging by the expansions already underway, it seems as if the Mafia were getting their own homes so they don't repeat their mistakes of driving the locals out. Hat Kid had to admit, Mustache Girl really knew how to work fast.

Walking down the fountain at the plaza, she knew that she'd find the Mafia goon who was pestering her to stay. Ever since that day where he opened the hatch door suddenly and caused all the timepieces to fall out, he'd been one of the first goons to leave her be out of remorse for what he did. Sure enough there he was, sitting with...a girlfriend? Wife? All Hat Kid could tell was that it was a rather large woman in a red and white polka dot dress, accepting flowers from said Mafia goon that she planned to see. The woman noticed Hat Kid first and pointed her out. The Mafia goon looked back and waved to her, gesturing to come over.

"Small child! You were silent for many days, Mafia glad to see you doing okay."

"Sorry about going all silent like that, I was just really bummed out after hearing some bad news and learning I couldn't go home."

Hat Kid briefly spent her time explaining to the Mafia goon what had exactly happened and what she had been doing since then. The Mafia goon looked concerned all the while, but took off Hat Kid's hat to pat her head.

"Hat child brave. You have many friends to help you too." She nodded, putting her hat back on once he stopped petting her head.

"By the way, who is she?" Hat Kid pointed to the woman in the polka dot dress. "Never seen her around Mafiatown before."

"Ah, this is Wife!" The Mafia goon proudly proclaimed, with an arm around her waist. "With housing, we sent boat back to pick up wives.”

"Hello small child, it is nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too ma'am!" Hat Kid briefly shook hands with the Mafia goon's wife. She had caught up with the Mafia goon, now it was onward to Cooking Cat!

"Do you know where Cooking Cat is?"

"Cat with chef hat in new seaside restaurant. Very popular with Mafia."

"Oh a new restaurant? I gotta check that out!"

Hat Kid quickly gave her goodbyes to the Mafia goon and his wife before rushing off to the beach. Sure enough, there was a small boat now that was turned into a kitchen, with tables on the sand. Even from a distance Hat Kid could see Cooking Cat hard at work in preparing meals that were being ordered. Right as she finished her last lobster meal, her alarm rang to indicate that her shift had ended. Just in time, a black cat wearing an apron and a chef cat climbed onto the boat and switched places with Cooking Cat, picking up where she left off in the orders. 

Cooking Cat wiped the sweat off her face and chugged down a bottled water that she had carried out of the boat with her. Hat Kid called out to her and ran over. Cooking Cat saw Hat Kid running over, excitedly hugging the small child before she began to scold her.

"Hat Kid do you understand how worried so many of us were? We tried contacting you for days and no one heard from you!" Cooking Cat was pinching Hat Kid's cheeks while she scolded her, leaving her cheeks bright red by the time she was done with her punishment. Hat Kid was left rubbing her cheeks at the stinging pain.

"I'm sorry Cookie, but what else was I going to do? Act like everything was fine the days after I learned I can't go home?"

Hat Kid sat down with Cooking Cat at an unoccupied table of the boat restaurant. She explained as she had done many times before what precisely happened when she tried contacting her home. It seemed that explaining the story so often lost its impact on Hat Kid. Judging by her tone of voice she was making it sound like it wasn't such a big deal anymore, but it still was to her. Cooking Cat listened on quietly, only asking the occasional question to have a better understanding about something. 

"So now I'm just trying to get the last timepieces to make sure that no one else other than Mustache Girl has access to one."

"Those little hourglass sets right?"

"Yeah! Have you seen some?"

"SEEN some? Hat Kid they are everywhere where I go to record my cooking show."

"Where is that? Or multiple places if there are more!" Hat Kid was practically right on Cooking Cat's face, desperate to know what areas on the planet still had more timepieces. Cooking Cat chuckled, trying to put Hat Kid back onto her seat.

"Alright alright!" Cooking Cat giggled at her enthusiasm. "One place is a cruise ship I'm due to board in a few months. If you can wait until then I'll see about getting you a ticket as my plus one alongside someone else. I’m still there to  _ technically _ work so see if you can find someone that’s willing to accompany you. The other place is Nyakuza Metro. I visit every few weeks or so to record a new episode of my cooking show there in specific. But…"

"But what?"

"The Metro is under the thumb of a crime lord, The Empress. She loves anything that can enhance her jewel business, and I’m sure those hourglass pieces are pretty enough in her eyes. I really suggest just giving up on trying to find any timepieces in the Nyazuka Metro for your own safety."

Hat Kid deflated in defeat. Why is it that this planet just HAD to have so many bad people with access to the timepieces? But, whether Cooking Cat wanted her to or not, she had to get the last timepieces. If anyone else figured out what they could do that's even more dangerous than leaving them alone! But for now, Hat Kid promised to not look for those timepieces (not right away anyways) and decided to instead try to see who could be her primary guardian on the cruise Cooking Cat was going on. The two gave off their farewells after Cooking Cat gave Hat Kid the plus one ticket. There the ticket specified that one child is allowed into the cruise free with every adult who had a ticket.

Hat Kid took this chance to walk around Mafiatown to check how things were. Some of the Mafia goons and island natives would sometimes butt heads, but the peace was able to be kept. She hadn't seen Mustache Girl yet, but personally she still wasn't mentally prepared to see the hooded  _ peckneck _ . Yeah, Hat Kid gave her one of the timepieces, but that was because she still felt bad! And besides after kicking Mustache Girl's butt to next Sunday she knew Hat Kid would be waiting to inflict justice again if the power got to her head.

Hat Kid sat down by the beach at the end of her walk. Her thoughts began to wander again. She had people who cared about her on this planet, but they weren't her mom or dad. She  _ wanted _ to hug her mom and dad again, to think that having to be stuck on this planet on her own was nothing but a bad dream. But it wasn't a bad dream, this was reality for her now. She couldn't celebrate birthdays anymore with her family, she couldn't hang out with her friends anymore. Hat Kid had friends here but they are not the friends on her home planet, the ones she had known since she was a baby. Hat Kid could feel herself trying to curl up into a ball again, but no, she didn't want to breakdown here.

Hat Kid had attempted to send herself back over to Subcon Forest, to ask Snatcher to take her to some pocket dimension so she could cry her heart out again for a bit, but that didn't work out. With how shaky her hands were she was  _ slightly _ off course and sent herself over to the outskirts of the Subcon Forest, scaring the daylights out of Lily by appearing in front of her. She had almost dropped her basket of flowers in the process.

"Oh  _ Jesus _ what is-H-Hat Kid?"

Hat Kid blinked, looking around. She cursed to herself, realizing she was going to have to walk to the center of the forest now. But before she could start her walk, Lily spoke up again.

"Hat Kid, what's wrong?"

"Nothing just, forget it."

"You look like you're about to cry, something  _ is _ wrong."

Hat Kid turned herself away, to try and pretend that Lily wasn't telling the truth. But it hurt. It hurt to pretend that everything was fine just because she's had a few nice moments. Before Lily could speak up again, Hat Kid fell onto her knees and broke out into a loud sob. Alarmed, Lily raced over to Hat Kid's side and held onto her, allowing her to sob in her arms.

"Hat Kid, what happened?"

"I want to see my family again!" Hat Kid sobbed out. "I'm still just a kid! I want to go home, hug them again and pretend just for a bit that I'm not on my own. But I c-can't, I can't see them again, and...and, a-a-" And Hat Kid cried louder. Lily remembered that Hat Kid had dodged her question before, asking if she was in town with her family. 

_ Is, she really an orphan? _ Lily's heart tugged at the realization.

A small child out on her own, with no family to fall back on, with no familiar face in sight.  _ Sounds like a few people I know. _ Lily held onto Hat Kid and let her sob to her heart's content. She knew it's dangerous to keep feelings locked up inside. Remembering this very morning, Lily recalled just how brave of a front Hat Kid had on. Trying her best to learn what foods were available here and doing her best to afford it all. But Lily couldn't let her thoughts wander for long. A guttural growl came from the forest behind them, a voice clearly displeased.

" **_What did you do to her._ ** "

Lily's face paled. Oh God, something  _ is _ in the forest. She was trying to think of a plan, to run out and keep Hat Kid safe. But before she could dash away Hat Kid lifted her head up and  _ began talking to the voice _ .

"Lily didn't make me cry. I was on my way over but she found me first."

"...Hat Kid how are you talking so calmly to that voice? Wait, on your way over?"

" _ She practically lives here and she loves to bother me in specific. _ "

Hat Kid sniffled but was smiling now, wiping her tears. "Aw come on, you like it when I bother you Snatcher."

" _ Don't get smart with me you little gremlin. _ "

Lily saw a figure manifest itself on the forest floor. A long, dark noodle shaped ghost with a neck mane descended nearby. His arms were long and thin, with only two clawed fingers in each hand. His eyes were bright yellow with no pupils, and as it turns out that when he spoke she saw that the inside of his mouth was also bright yellow.

" _ What were you crying about this time? _ "

"...The usual."

Lily heard the ghost groan. He plucked Hat Kid from Lily's arms and made the girl stand on her own two feet. " _ Come on, a few of my minions probably need some help with some chore in the village. That can take your mind off of things- _ "

"Village? Subcon Village is still standing?"

Snatcher cursed to himself. He forgot  _ this  _ woman knows about it all. Hat Kid just as expectantly looked over to Snatcher, wondering what he was going to answer with.

" _ It is, but there's no point in checking it out. Anything that you remember being there is gone. _ "

"That pecking manor is still there though, I'll happily see  _ that _ burn down one day." Hat Kid muttered, a visible shudder going down her body.

" _ Language. _ "

"Vanessa's manor is still standing?"

" _ Ugh, yes, it is. And if you have any sense of logic left in you, do not ask further. You're going to build yourself up to a lot of grief if you ask more. _ "

Lily had  _ many _ more questions, but she decided to not open her mouth again. She could see that the ghost was unwilling to say more. Considering how much he did know, he was most likely someone else that lived in the village, someone like her. Knowing that, she understood why he didn't want to dwell on the matter.

"Well, I'll take my leave. I got what I came here for anyways."

" _ Alright. _ " The ghost turned back to Hat Kid. " _ Come on kid. _ "

Lily watched Hat Kid wave goodbye, moving over to the ghost's side. She watched the two head off and couldn't help but smile to see Hat Kid so gently holding onto the ghost's tail. It seemed to be something she often does, as the ghost didn't react to this gesture. Lily turned around to head back home, her basket filled with newly picked bellflowers. Of course she was careful to not damage the entire plants, so those bushes should still be there when the bellflowers bloom again. It was still a kind reminder of her old home, one that apparently still existed in some form.

Lily went home to a suburban part of the town to put the decorative flowers around her house. She sat in her study to begin writing about her day, without hesitation writing about Hat Kid and the ghost.

"What an odd fellow. I wonder who he was in the village."


	7. Forest Guest

Snatcher mumbled to himself. It had been a few days since Hat Kid had met Lily, but it was obvious that she was meeting the Florist much more often. He couldn't go through a conversation with Hat Kid without her mentioning Lily in some way now. He wouldn't have cared as much, if it didn't bring back some rather mixed emotions concerning her. It would bring back pains Snatcher didn't remember that he could feel, and old memories that came back to haunt him if he let his mind wander for too long. He was currently fetching a book for Hat Kid, as he didn't want her climbing his bookcases. 

" _ How on Earth  _ **_did_ ** _ you see this book from all the way down there? _ " Snatcher asked, pulling down a book about old fairy tales and handed it over to Hat Kid.

"I'm not  _ that _ short you know! I saw that the book said 'fairy tales' and I wanted to see it."

"... _ Yup you climbed the bookcase. _ "

"Did not!"

But Hat Kid still put herself down on the floor with the book. She opened the book and began to read the first story. Snatcher couldn't help himself and peered over, wondering what she was reading first.  _ Oh, it's Drakestail! _ He remembered that one, and the duck honestly reminded him of Hat Kid. When the duck said he wanted his money back, he got his money back no matter how hard he had to work for it. Reminded him of an equally annoying alien when it came to her timepieces. If memory recalled him, he already knew that a shortened version of Beauty and the Beast was the next story. He let Hat Kid be, knowing that the book would occupy her attention for a while.

Snatcher was doing his usual patrol now that Hat Kid had been thoroughly distracted for the next hour, that gave him time to check his traps and check up on any Subconite that had found something of interest before. Snatcher went back to check on the trap that was sprung the most often, the trap that was right on the old path everyone would take when heading out of the forest. It was so easy to find some fools who would think that they could just waltz into the forest without repercussion. Right before he went over to the trap though, his senses already began alarming that it had been sprung. So soon? Must be his lucky day. But oh boy, how wrong he was. Snatcher saw that the bag encasing his newest victim was rather still. Captured, but as calm as they can be in such a situation. He could sense that their heart rate was through the roof.

Snatcher had prepared a pocket dimension around the trap, ready to scare whoever was in the bag. With a swift slice, he cut the bag from the top and allowed the person to fall out of the bag and onto the floor. He had taken in a breath to perform his signature laugh, but stopped himself when the person that fell out of the bag looked up at him. Snatcher could feel himself deflating. It was Lily, staring up to him with surprised and fearful eyes.

"... _ Oh it's just you. _ " He sighed. With a snap of his fingers he dispersed the pocket dimension, he and Lily now back in the outskirts of the forest that he caught her in.

"What- are there always traps out here like this?" She finally spoke up.

" _ How do you think I keep the village safe? _ " Was all he said. Snatcher moved Lily off to the side and began resetting his trap.

"Well, considering everyone always said the forest was haunted, I just assumed you just scared them off when they got too deep in."

" _ No, the traps help keep the usual idiot in place until I decide what I have to do with them. Some I can simply scare away, others are intruders such as Mafia goons or loggers and they are dealt with differently. _ "

"...So that explains why those loggers never came back."

" _ So why were  _ **_you_ ** _ heading deeper inside? The bellflowers you collect are right at the edge. _ "

"Well, Hat Kid told me that she spends time in the village or around it. I finished refurbishing a mask she asked me to fix for her, so I was going to try and find her." Lily went into her bag, and pulled out a mask that looked like ones the Dwellers had. It had the shape of the pink mask he remembered that Hat Kid had, but the pink was repainted to be a lighter color. Small vines and flowers were painted on the sides of the mask, and fake flowers were hot-glued around the 'ears' of the mask. Lily clearly looked proud of her handicraft, putting the mask back into the bag.

"It's fun to work on a mask like this again."

" _ I can take it over to the kid. _ "

"I wanted to see her reaction to it though."

" _ Too bad, she's in my home and that's deep in the forest. Either wait for her to leave the forest for the day or I take it to her. _ "

"The forest was once my home too you know. You can't seriously think that you can gate-keep the forest from former residents." Lily defiantly stated. Snatcher's eyes narrowed.

" _ It's no longer your home, so you have no say in- _ "

"...Lily?"

Snatcher and Lily looked off to the side, to see the coattails Subconite staring at her. Lily looked surprised to see the Subconite. What on Earth is that?

"Your voice sounds familiar...should I know you?"

"By the stars it is you Lily!" The coattails Subconite quickly clambered down from the tree he was on and ran over to hug her. "It's me! Robinson!"

"I- Robinson? The old head butler in Vanessa's manor?"

"The one and only!" The coattails Subconite proudly proclaimed. "Oh I'm so happy you're still alive! After everything that had happened, we didn't know where most of the village went."

"...still alive?"

" **_WELL THEN_ ** _ it seems that I have no say anymore in anything. _ " Snatcher turned to Lily. " _ This is the only time I'm giving you access to the deeper parts of the forest. Take this chance to see everything for yourself if you want. _ "

Before Lily could respond, she found herself to have been teleported  _ deep _ into the forest. It was only based on the old paths that Lily could see that this really was the old village. But all the houses were gone, with only a thin appearance of old foundations to signify where they all once were. Everything about the forest was dark, gloomy, sad. Lily quietly walked to where her old house once stood, having still committed to muscle memory the walk back home after a day of work. Where her home once stood, all that stood were some old bricks. Mushrooms and thick bushes covered the spot over her home now, erasing the evidence that there was ever a building there. She couldn't dwell on this fact forever, Lily heard commotion in the distance, from where the central plaza used to be.

Even now, though a fragment of what it used to be, Lily could hear laughter going on. While tree stump houses replaced the grand brick buildings that used to stand in its place, things were still lively. Lily could see Hat Kid currently with a lot of ghostly creatures with masks, and others that looked exactly like the coattails Subconite. A fairy tale book was being held up by one ghost wearing a fox mask, while the others seemed to be re-enacting what was on the book. Three masked ghosts were front and center. Their masks were all similar in shape, looking like variations of the old popular red and white mask that she would always have to make. One that looked like Robinson comedically had a giant stick in his hand, standing in front of the three masked ghosts. 

"Rooar! Who is that tripping over my bridge?" The Subconite holding the stick called out.

The smallest masked ghost spoke up, pretending to look scared. "Oh it is only I, the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff!"

Lily could hear Snatcher groan. She forgot that he was still following her. He was looking over to where Hat Kid was, with her finger over the sentences to make sure the actors were saying their lines right. " _ This is what I get for leaving her unattended with a book. Now she has everyone reciting the stories. _ "

"I think it's adorable." Lily smiled. The coattails Subconite went over to join the others, interrupting the story. The others whined at him but then he pointed over to Lily with much enthusiasm. Hat Kid noticed and waved over to Lily. "Hi Lily! Hi Snatcher! Come on over!" She called out.

Lily  _ would have _ come over, but all the Dwellers and Subconite ran to her instead. "Lily! Really is it you?" And many variations were heard from the excited masses. Lily couldn't believe it. So many familiar voices! Everyone that was labeled missing, this is where they all were, they were still here! Snatcher took this chance to take his book back from Hat Kid, who stuck her tongue out at him but handed the book back to him anyways. "I thought you said you don't allow others so deep into the forest."

" _ I'm making an exception. _ "

Hat Kid quietly watched with Snatcher the reunion Lily was having with the Dwellers and Subconites. Not all Dwellers or Subconites knew who she was, so some stayed behind with Hat Kid and Snatcher. Some were clearly happy to see that she was alive and well, but those were acquaintances. She could see when some must have been close friends, because she saw a Dweller sobbing on top of Lily.

"...She was a survivor of whatever happened here, wasn't she?"

"... _ yes. _ " Was all he said. Snatcher hated when conversations took this route. Then Hat Kid would try and probe him again about what  _ did _ happen but he would never answer. This time would be no different. Everyone else was always hesitant to answer her too, so he knew none of the Dwellers or minions around him would answer Hat Kid either.

After a while Lily was finally able to join up with Hat Kid, and settled her bag down to hand it to Hat Kid. Hat Kid curiously poked through the bag and gasped to see the refurbished mask, happily holding it up so the others could see it. "This looks amazing! Oh thank you thank you thank you Lily!" Hat Kid happily cried out. She quickly clasped the mask on to show it off to the other Dwellers, who were both very impressed and jealous of her new mask. Snatcher tapped Lily's shoulder, pointing over to the path.

" _ Come on, time to go. _ "

"Already?"

" _ Yes 'already', I can't keep track of you and still watch the forest. _ "

Lily would...rather not mess with Snatcher. Considering he's the reason people have gone missing, she'd rather not be one of them. She nodded and Snatcher had taken her to the front of the forest, right where she usually goes to pick up the bellflowers. 

"Is it possible for me to visit more? Knowing that some of my old friends are still there after 5 years of never seeing them, I'd like to visit more."

" _ Are you sure you're not related to the kid somehow? You two have a really annoying way of making requests sound reasonable, but no I said it was a one time thing. _ "

"Before I go I want to know, was she your daughter when you were alive?"

That caught Snatcher off guard. He shook his head, looking as if Lily was a fool for ever suggesting such an outlandish thing. " _ No. She's not my daughter, where did you even get that from? _ "

"She mentioned living around here, so that was my first misunderstanding that she might have been a baby who survived the Big Freeze. You can try and act as nasty as you want around me, but your attitude is a lot softer around her from what little I have seen, and she seems really attached to you. Is she just an orphan then?"

" _...yeah, guess you could say that. I'm not answering for the kid. If you want to know  _

_ ask her yourself."  _ Snatcher was about to leave but he saw that Lily was going to speak up again, he groaned.

" _ What? _ "

"Who were you in the village?"

" _ No one you should care about,  _ **_bye._ ** "

And Snatcher was gone. Lily couldn't help but give a huff of anger. What a rude ghost! She figured out after years of hiding away that her old home still has spirits in it, and she can't catch up with them?  _ What a load of baloney, I'm going to ask Hat Kid anything she knows about who that grumpy ghost is. He won't be able to act so tough once I have some ammo against him _ .


	8. In Need of Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hat Kid's alien race gets a name here! Abeonian, reference to the Goddess of Safe Passage and Journeys, Abeona.

No one had seen Hat Kid for a few days in the forest. Knowing her, that meant she was out getting some time rifts. Annoyingly, that meant it wasn't the time rifts for the Subcon Forest again since she was nowhere to be seen. Snatcher had been making his rounds when he saw one of the time rifts again in his forest. It was a purple one, floating quite thematically in a shattered hourglass that had broken years ago. He had tried over the past few days to touch it, but it was just as Hat Kid explained, only her race could enter it. Everytime Snatcher attempted to touch the rifts he was met with a jarring surge of energy that would blast him a few feet away.

Snatcher as such had no choice but to leave the rifts alone after being blown away one too many times. He went to check on a contracted Mafia goon he had working on some task in the swamp, only to find a drowned body on the top of the sludge. Mafia, so useless if you don't use their brawn. Snatcher plucked out the soul from the Mafia goon and ordered his minions to get rid of the corpse. It was another soul to add to the collection. He wholeheartedly ate it, feeling the flavor that the soul gave him in full force. Another soul, another step closer to finally facing off with Vanessa. The thought of doing so, it terrified him. By the gods he was scared, but he needed to face her one day.

It was grim to think about. He knew if he failed, the Dwellers and his minions would all perish, their souls and forms shattered. So he wanted to over-prepare, get everything ready for their final fight. He found it rather ironic, that a ghost who did the scaring had fears of his own. But these were reasonable fears! It's not fear of the dark or fear of spiders, it was fear that whatever he had left would be taken from him. He gripped his arms at the thought, his gaze moving to the direction of the manor. He really,  _ really _ hoped that he was able to fend Vanessa off.

With the rounds done for the day Snatcher had expected a peaceful and quiet day. But something was stirring. The forest was getting increasingly nervous, its energy was turning sad. The nervous energy had moved, from the entrance of the forest until the epicenter was by his house.  _ By the hollow? What would… _ And it clicked to him. The only way for something to evade his traps is if that someone knew the placement, or his minions led the person through. Snatcher quickened his pace back to the tree.

There, a few Subconites and Dwellers looked to be carrying something into the hollow. Following behind them was an increasingly nervous Lily. Their souls were anxious, worried. Each radiated a pulse of fear around them. This did not help to ease Snatcher's worry at all. Once he got back to his hollow he moved his way over to see what two Dwellers had just put onto his chair. It was Hat Kid, but she was pale.  _ Very _ pale. Her breathing was labored and her coughs were wet. She was curled up in a fetal position and was shivering.

"Boss, we saw her and Lily by the entrance of the forest! We thought the newbie was just asleep, but she's looking real bad.

" _ But how did she get this bad? _ " He turned to Lily, who unfortunately only shrugged. Snatcher noticed she had her work uniform on.

"I don't know. She came to the store already looking like this, and collapsed by the entrance. I had to tell my boss that I 'knew her family' so that I could leave work to bring her here."

Snatcher put his hand over her forehead. Even with his warm body it was obvious that she had a fever. How had she gotten sick? Sure, kids got sick much more often than adults due to developing immune systems, but he couldn't help but cringe a bit at the condition Hat Kid was in. It was such a quick deterioration. 

"It may have to do with the fact she's an alien Boss!" A Subconite in the back of the crowd yelled out. "Her body probably doesn't know how to fight off the illnesses here!"

Lily looked back to the Subconite surprised. Hat Kid was an alien? But she looked like a regular human in every way of the word!

" _ Great, so that means she has no immunity to anything here. _ " Snatcher grumbled. He looked up to the sky for a moment and snapped his fingers. That's it! " _ She just needs to be kept quarantined. _ "

"But who is going to care for her?"

…? " _ I thought you were going to. _ "

"If she has a compromised immune system I'd be the worst candidate. You guys are spirits, you can't transmit diseases." Fair point. Lily may have immunity to diseases that could very well kill Hat Kid- And that thought suddenly drove a pain into Snatcher.  _ What? _ He looked back to Hat Kid, his fist clenching slightly. Being in the forest wasn't any better at the moment, it could have diseases that she can get worse without vaccination.

" _ I'll take her back up to her ship. She needs to be kept away from the planet for a bit. But she'll need some vaccinations for later. _ " Snatcher picked Hat Kid's shivering body, not caring at the moment that she was coughing on him hard. " _ Lily, see if you can find a doctor that will be willing to give her some shots when she's better. _ "

"Can do. Just be careful, the poor girl looks like she's been fighting this for a while."

Lily waved off her farewell before Snatcher had sent her back to the entrance of the forest. In moments he was now up on the ship and hurriedly making his way over to Hat Kid's bedroom. Even the bedroom had a heavy atmosphere of sickness to it. Snatcher laid Hat Kid onto her bed and tucked her into the sheets. Seeing as she was settled in, he went off to the kitchen to see if he could find some tea bags. Thank his lucky stars there were some! Snatcher found a small box of mint and chamomile tea and took a single bag. In succession he found a mug and filled it with water, casting his own fire to quickly boil the water enough so that the tea would be hot enough.

Once he had come back to the bedroom with the tea, he saw Hat Kid sitting upright on her bed, blankly staring off into the distance. She noticed Snatcher and gave a weak wave. Her eyes gave the expression of exhaustion and her movements were so sluggish. Snatcher placed the mug with tea down by the night table before he turned to face Hat Kid.

" _ Kid what the hell have you been up to that you're in such a sorry state? _ "

"I don't know…" Her voice sounded so tired, so weak. It was hoarse and it felt like every word hurt to say. "I was collecting timepieces as usual and then...one day I woke up tired. I tried to sleep it off but it got worse."

" _ Geez, Lily was right. Your body isn't built for this planet kiddo. Your immune system doesn't know how to fight common illnesses here, so you're being hit hard by one. _ " 

Hat Kid gave a slow nod for a response, at the very least understanding what was being said.

" _ So you'll need vaccines for the common illnesses here. _ "

Hat Kid's face turned sour at the mention of vaccines. She coughed, prompting Snatcher to slowly hand her the mug of tea.

Snatcher expectantly watched Hat Kid sip the tea. Even if she made a disgusted face at the taste of the tea, he was relieved that she was still drinking. After a few sips she put the mug back down on the night table and laid back down onto the bed. The drink warmed her up plenty, but she was still shivering…

Snatcher sighed.

He brought his tail over to the bed. Letting his tail rest on top of Hat Kid he took this chance to start heating up the lower half of his body. It helped to keep Hat Kid warm, and the weight of his tail helped keep a weighted feeling on the blanket for extra comfort. Hat Kid was readily holding Snatcher's tail, but even her grip on it was very weak.

" _ Just rest up alright? You worried the forest when the others found out you're currently sick. _ "

"...worried the forest?" Hat Kid ever so slightly looked over to Snatcher, confused by what he meant.

" _ Yeah, everyone's soul, everyone's emotion, it's in sync to the forest. When my minions and the Dwellers feel concern, it in turn makes the forest where they are very anxious overall. So when they are scared for example, I know exactly where to go because I can pinpoint the energy of fear. _ "

"...cool." She vaguely said, sounding mystified. Snatcher rolled his eyes, putting a hand over her face to non-verbally tell Hat Kid to close her eyes. She obediently did so, going back to trying to head off to sleep.

But minutes ticked on by, and every once in a while Hat Kid would in frustration open her eyes again due to not being able to sleep. She looked so stressed about it, gripping onto Snatcher's tail tighter. But he could feel a twinge of apathy in Hat Kid's soul. Snatcher could only guess why, but he had an idea.

In a usual situation Snatcher felt as if Hat Kid would happily rest up to get better, but not now. With everything that has happened, he has so far seen Hat Kid so apathetic to her own illness. She hadn't sought anyone's help once she was beginning to get sick, and she didn't look all that grateful either to be receiving help. Snatcher groaned, rubbing his temple as he reached his realization. 

"... _ Kid? _ "

Hat Kid's gaze slowly went up.

" _ Why break down now? It's been what, two weeks since you were given the news? _ "

Her gaze went back down. All she did was shrug. Snatcher sighed. The kid wasn't willing to talk, great. Everyone always knows the answer to their grief. Snatcher himself once knew as well, once upon a time. But she wouldn't get better in the long-term if she stayed this defeated. For the first time, he truly felt that want, that need, to help Hat Kid out. But how? She was at least responding decently to him trying to help her out at least.

" _ What, do I have to sing you to sleep or- _ "

" **NO.** "

Now  _ that _ was a response. Snatcher saw Hat Kid, angrily clutching onto his tail now. 

" _ It's just singing, sheesh I'm not terrible at it. _ "

"It not tha-" 

Hat Kid coughed harder, wheezing a bit at the end as if she was having trouble breathing. Alarmed, Snatcher was floating over her unsure of what to do. The silence of Hat Kid trying to breath was deafening. And for once, Snatcher was scared. It was an asthma attack?! He didn't know the kid had asthma, he never saw her with an inhaler! A sudden gasp from Hat Kid brought his thoughts back to reality. She was breathing once more, the blue in her face disappearing and bringing back the fleshy colors.

This was going to be a long day…

\----

It was the late afternoon by the time Hat Kid finally felt sleep take her. She was terrified to go to sleep, fearing that she would stop breathing and never wake up. Snatcher was like glue to the side of the bed, having had to refill the tea a few times for Hat Kid and even having to walk her to the bathroom. But once she was asleep, Snatcher finally felt that he could relax from his tense posture. He really needed to figure out how Hat Kid worked if he was going to make her feel better.

_ Minion? _

He called out in his mind. One familiar voice, the coattails Subconite, responded.

_ Yes, Boss? _

_ By chance do you know how many books I have concerning alien races? _

_ Quite a few, yes. _

_ Have ready in a pile for me all the ones you can find, and tell me when. _

_ Right away, Boss. _

And their communications ended. In half an hour Snatcher had a stack of books sent over to the ship, all ranging from small child-sized books to large encyclopedias. Time to get to reading.

\----

"So let me get this straight Lily. There are ghosts in the forest, and they say the girl is an alien?"

"Yes, I know it sounds a little hard to believe, I mean I still doubt it myself. She looks like a human in every way."

"Looks human in every way?" The elderly man Lily was talking to went up to the top row of his book shelf. His finger grazed the bindings before landing on a particular book which was rather thin. He pulled it out and handed it to Lily, patting off the dust bunnies that landed on his bandana that he had wrapped around his head. "There are very few alien races that look human or can take the appearance of humans, so they can visit us and never arouse suspicion."

Lily thanked the man for the book, flipping through the pages. "Is it fine if I keep this book for a bit? I knew I was going to find something by asking you."

"Of course dear. Take the time you need alright?"

"Thank you so much Tim, I'll see you around!" Lily waved goodbye to the elderly man before heading off from his bookstore. The man meanwhile sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before sighing. A huge grin was on his face. "That explains all the timepieces that I felt the presence of. Never thought I'd see an Abeonian again."


	9. Sick Visit

Lily had waited right outside from where she last saw the Subconites. Last time she came by, she was desperately holding an ill Hat Kid and being led around traps. It had been four days since then and she couldn't stop worrying. What had happened to Hat Kid? Were Snatcher and the others able to care for her properly? At the same time, she held the book that Tim had given here. She wanted to ask Hat Kid more about what she was, and how she came to be here by herself. Only if she was feeling better though, Lily didn't want to rush.

A Subconite doing its usual rounds closer to the edge noticed Lily and gave a warm wave to her. "Hey there Lily!" She couldn't see the being smile but she assumed it was based on body language. "Whatcha doing here again?"

"I wanted to see how Hat Kid was doing after I dropped her off."

The Subconite nodded, gesturing for Lily to follow its exact path. "Gotcha. From what the Boss said it was Bronchitis and she got asthma from it, so we had to steal some cough medication since we have no money for anything like that."

"Oh if you guys need something like that please tell me, you guys know stealing is wrong!" That explains why the local pharmacy looked like it was the victim of a robbery, but nothing expensive was taken. The Subconite shook its head however, defiantly raising its hand.

"If it's for the newbie I'll do it! The Boss cares about her a lot just like everyone else! He's been practically living on the newbie's ship these past few days." The Subconite hummed, zig zagging Lily beyond all the traps. Eventually the pair made it to Snatcher's tree hollow home. The Subconite stood still for a moment, its gaze high to the sky.

After a tense moment of silence the Subconite spoke up, holding onto Lily's hand now. "Alright he's going to send us up."

" _ Who's _ going to send us  _ where _ ?"

And both Lily and the Subconite were now on the ship. Lily looked around in awe at the ship and its size. There were so many pieces of technology that Lily couldn't even think of a name for them all! The Subconite interrupted her thoughts however, tugging at her floral dress. "Come on! They are this way." 

The Subconite led Lily down a hallway that was off to the left of where she was dropped off on the ship. At the other side of the hallway she was met with the  _ largest _ child's room, or largest bedroom period, that she had ever seen. Half of the room was dedicated to a sea of pillows! Wherever Hat Kid is actually from, they must really like pillows.

Speaking of which, Hat Kid was currently sitting up on her bed giving a lazy wave to Lily. She  _ definitely _ looked healthier now even if she was still sick, and it seemed to be an 'as always' routine of Hat Kid holding onto the end of Snatcher's tail. Snatcher in turn didn't pay much mind to Lily, reading one of the many books he had by his side.

"How is Hat Kid doing?"

" _ She's still having asthma attacks on occasion but her coughing fits are getting better. Her fever is lower now, and I've been forcing her to get sleep. _ "

"Forcing her to sleep?"

" _ She's had an asthma attack twice in her sleep, it scares her to sleep now. _ "

"I didn't even know she had asthma…"

" _ Given by the Bronchitis. Once that's gone so is the asthma. _ "

Lily had to keep her distance to make sure she didn't get Hat Kid sick with anything else, but still spoke over to her to have a conversation. "Hey Hat Kid! Are you actually an alien?"

Hat Kid nodded. "Well, to me you guys are aliens but yeah."

"What's the name of the race? I managed to find a book on some alien races but I don't know if it's accurate." Hat Kid narrowed her eyes to try and get a better look at the book Lily was holding. She couldn't tell the publisher, shame.

"It's Abeonian."

"Oh the book does talk about your race then!" Lily flipped through the pages, until she got to the chapters that mentioned Abeonians. "Your race is an interesting bunch Hat Kid, I didn't even know they had such an orderly system for everything but...it seems rather boring after a while."

Hat Kid nodded, holding onto Snatcher's tail tighter. "Everything is very regulated down to even when you get your first bike. It lets the Council keep track of who is where in life." Snatcher looked up from his book, turning over to face Hat Kid.

" _ Okay nothing I read about mentioned that. Why in the world would they need to regulate so much? _ "

Hat Kid stayed silent, but as Lily flipped through the pages in her book, she knew that the woman was going to practically answer Snatcher's question. "It's the suppression that allows for regulation doesn't it?" Snatcher looked confused at that answer, but before he could say anything Hat Kid pointed to the nightstand beside the bed. Snatcher opened the drawer and there, a small container full of pills was inside. Hat Kid grabbed the container and held it up.

"This. This is why everyone's lives can be so controlled."

" _ What…is it? _ "

"Take them daily, and you stop having dreams. You never truly realize your creative capacity outside of what is asked of you to do. You can't even see hues or feel emotions to their fullest extent. You become more obedient this way." Hat Kid murmured. Lily and Snatcher look at the container in surprise. Such a pill can be made? Hat Kid tucked the container away once more, sighing.

"It's why I applied to be a space traveler, they don't have a way to check if travelers are taking their pills."

"So...before then you never saw color?" Lily asked, horrified to see Hat Kid nodding.

"Not a single one. Once the pills were no longer in my system though, I actually got to see what colors looked like." Hat Kid muttered, a small smile on her face. "It's why I filled this ship with as many colors as possible, I wanted to see it all."

" _ Did you see the colors one at a time or all at once? _ "

"One at a time."

"Oh what was your first color then?"

Hat Kid held up her top hat, smiling widely. "Purple, then yellow. The first two colors I ever saw."

This was...something Snatcher and Lily didn't expect to hear. What kind of planet was this? Controlling their citizens in such a way like this? But then, it was a thought that ate the back of Snatcher's mind.

"... _ Kid if this planet seems so controlling and bad, why did you want to go back so badly? _ "

"My family." She said in turn, looking back up to Snatcher. "No matter what the planet does I still hold deep love for my family, how they responded to my disappearance is...actually expected of them."

" _ They just cut their losses and continue life without you, not even questioning where you were? _ "

"...yeah." Hat Kid murmured, holding her hat closer. "I'm happy I was able to say goodbye to Nana at least."

Neither Snatcher or Lily pushed the conversation beyond that for now. They managed to get Hat Kid to say and confirm a lot of sensitive topics, that was enough for the time being. The Snatcher called over the Subconite that was still with Lily, ordering him to keep watch of Hat Kid for a while. With the Subconite stationed by Hat Kid's side, Snatcher escorted Lily down the hall so that they could talk properly.

" _ What is up with that planet? No wonder the kid treats every experience here so memorable, it's probably the first time she's experienced things with full control of her emotions. _ "

"I...I didn't want it to be Abeonian honestly. The other races that look human in text appear to be much more free-living than them." Lily shuddered, looking back at the pages then at the general direction of Hat Kid's room. "But this is what concerns me now."

" _ What is? _ "

"She's never felt the full brunt of an emotional high or low until she started traveling. She has complete inexperience on how to deal with her emotions, what happens when something finally overwhelms her?"

Lily had a point. Recalling the contracts he had her do, the only thing that really got to her was going into Vanessa’s manor. He remembered how much that affected Hat Kid, not seeing her for days after that contract, and avoiding most parts of the forest since then. It took a  _ long _ time for Hat Kid to recover from that. But Snatch confidently thought to himself that nothing will be scarier than that, so he gave a small wave off to Lily. 

" _ She's been through a lot of stuff these past few months. If nothing has irreversibly damaged her yet then nothing will. _ "

"I highly doubt that. She's still just a child Snatcher, situations adults may be able to handle will still be terrifying to a child. Couple that with her inexperience with emotions and you have a disaster waiting to happen."

" _ I'd probably agree if this was just some regular little shit kid. _ " Snatcher ignored the glare from Lily. " _ The kid has survived countless dangers, I'm fairly certain she'll be fine. _ "

"...If you say so."

" _ Also, see if you can find a doctor that's willing to vaccinate Hat Kid sometime this week. I'll probably have to check how many pons the corpses in the forest have in order to pay for it."  _

Lily shuddered at the thought of Snatcher grave robbing just to get funds for Hat Kid's vaccines. Very immoral but with a good outcome, what a gray area. "Alright, just  _ please _ don't tell me where you get the money from next time." 

The two eventually came back to Hat Kid's bedroom to see her putting stickers on the Subconite's cape. Noticing that Lily and Snatcher were back she waved to them, with the Subconite happily retreating from Hat Kid's side to try and get all the stickers off of himself.

" _ Alright you gremlin, my minion and Lily are leaving so say your goodbyes. _ "

"Aww can't Lily stay a little longer?"

" _ No. One, because I said so. Two, you're still sick you shouldn't be interacting with living beings so much. _ "

"Alright...bye Lily! Bye Stickers!"

The Subconite held Lily's hand once more, and the Snatcher sent the two back down to the forest. The pair landed in the tree hollow, the colors of the ship replaced with the dull colors of the forest once more.

"...Stickers?"

"I guess that's what the newbie is calling me after she put those stickers on my cape." The Subconite grumbled, unable to remove the stickers off his cape because he couldn't reach them. "Anyways, are you going to head home Lily?"

Lily pondered it for a while, looking up to where she supposed the ship would be, and then the remains of the Subcon Village.

"I'm going to take advantage that Snatcher is glued to Hat Kid's side. Once I find a doctor I'll drop by the village every once in a while."

"Awesome! Another guest that the Boss won't kill!" The Subconite rejoiced.

Won't kill? That wasn't comforting at all considering ' _ can _ kill' is still a possibility.

“Per chance, do you know who Snatcher was before the Big Freeze?” Lily saw the Subconite freeze in place.

“Er, he’s not exactly proud of his previous life Lily. It’s best you don’t poke your nose in that.” He spoke cautiously, obviously choosing his words with great care.

The two walked back to the edge of the forest, the Subconite waving goodbye to Lily. She was disappointed that the Subconite wouldn’t tell her what the ghost’s identity was, but all it did was further her determination!  _ One day I’ll find out who you are, you sneaky ghost. _


End file.
